I think all business owners would agree that ultimately the purpose of all marketing and advertising is to increase sales. In every needs-analysis meeting we ask “what would you like the results of the campaign to be?” the answer is inevitably to make the register ring!

That’s not unrealistic, but it is shortsighted.

Marketers understand the value of the brand — a name, a logo or a slogan that is instantly identifiable. That kind of brand value takes a long time to build and a lot of hard work to earn. And you’re always just a few bad mistakes away from losing it all and having to start over.

My point is this: Brand building happens all day, every day. It happens with the customers that walk in the door and with the potential prospects that drive by. If all you measure are the sales that transpired that day to determine if your marketing is working, you may abandon a successful strategy. Here’s why.

Strategy is the “why buy?” of a campaign and tactics are the “why buy now?” Both are important, and both add a great deal of value to the brand. Therefore, both should be measured to determine success. In a tradigital campaign, an equal emphasis should be put on engagement of the prospect (the “why buy?”), which is a key part of the conversion process.

Tradigital Term: Return On Engagement (ROE) measures the increase your campaign adds to your social media networks and the activity it generates.

This is where social media is truly a game-changer. As a marketer with 20-plus years of experience and a solid foundation in traditional media, I understand that social media adds a layer of connectivity that was never before possible.

Social media offers many other opportunities to convert the same prospect that didn’t initially buy from you. For example:

A YouTube video featured on your landing page allows the prospect to learn more about your product or service than any 30-second commercial or newly-trained customer service rep could ever offer.

A follow button for pages such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Google+ and Instagram is a way to capture a follower, dramatically increasing the likelihood of that prospect returning and buying in the future. The cost for acquisition is significantly reduced from that point.

Get a prospect to sign up for a weekly email or newsletter. This is one of the most powerful tools a marketer has to convert a highly-interested lead into a customer. Offering the prospect an opportunity to remain engaged through relevant email marketing nearly insures a customer in the future.

A share button gives prospects an opportunity to share offer/product/service information with their network of friends through social media.

By entering a contest or other promotion that has nothing to do with the current offer, the prospect “converts” instead of simply leaving your page and is now part of your future email marketing or social media posts.

Downloading a coupon or more information redeemable at a future date gives the prospect the flexibility to take advantage of an offer on their own time and keep them in control of the transaction.

All of these are non-transactional conversions that serve to build your brand, as these prospects are now in the sales funnel, even without purchasing anything from you.

Keep in mind that on average, only about 2 percent of the population is in the market for your goods and services at any one time. That means 98 percent of the people who visit your page are not ready to buy but are interested in your product or services. If your conversion strategy only measures success by the amount of sales you generate, you are missing 98 percent of the picture.

If the prospects cared enough to visit your page, don’t leave them hanging by only offering a buy or leave proposition. Give them plenty of other touch points using social media, email marketing and contests or downloads so they can start interacting with your company and giving you the opportunity to earn their business.

John Garcia is managing partner and digital director of Baldrica Advertising and Marketing. He started working in the industry 25 years ago at a Fortune 500 advertising agency in New York City. Over time, he mastered the art of integrating TV, radio, print, billboard, cable, and direct mail with digital for maximum results. He spearheaded several digital initiatives during his seven-year tenure at The Palm Beach Post before moving to Baldrica.